Gypsy Invite: Gypsy Celebrates 5 Years!

GYPSY TURNS 5
I remember it was a cold, dreary, rainy day in February when I first got a look at what was to be Gypsy Café. It had been a coffeehouse before, closed for several years, and was being used for storage space by the landlord at the time. Everything was dirty, dusty and disused. The walls were uniform bland beige and all the kitchen equipment was crusty. I remember distinctly after my first reconnaissance thinking, “Man, this is going to be a lot of work…” Little did I know, it was going to be both the hardest and most rewarding thing I had ever done.

We literally did everything on a shoestring. If I told you how much starting capital we began with you’d laugh at me in disbelief and rightfully so. Our friends were and still are, our biggest assets. It was our friends that made Gypsy happen and it’s the reason we are still here today.

That’s why now, 5 years later, we are having an anniversary celebration not for us, but for you, our friends, without whom Gypsy would never have been more than just a dream. We’re going back through all of our past menus to pull out some old favorites for a 5 course, $25 prix fixe menu showcasing some of our “greatest hits” with $5 wine pairings to match, and we will be hosting The Continental Dukes, a local band that specializes in Pan-European styles, just like we do.

Its all happening this Saturday night, starting around 8, and, like all of our events, we suggest making reservations as soon as possible.

MAY EVENTS
May is going to be a busy month here at Gypsy Café. In addition to our ongoing events, Gypsy Strings each Thursday, Readings by Rebecca each Friday and Sunday, and our biweekly Saturday visits from Jazzmen extraordinaire Don Aliquo and Mark Perna (This month it’ll be a pre-Mothers’ day show on May 9th and then again on May 23rd), we will also be participating in a fundraiser for the Women’s Crisis Center North on Thursday May 7th (www.crisiscenternorth.org/events.php) and the Silk Screen Asian Film Festival (http://silkscreen.bside.com/2009/) kicking off May 8th

Mother’s Day
Next weekend is already Mothers’ Day (Sunday, May 10th), which we will celebrate not only with our Fifth Annual Famous Mothers Brunch (Complimentary Mimosa for each mom!) but also with a special prix fixe menu in the evening. Plus, as a warm up, Gypsy hosts Jazz with Don Aliquo Saturday May 9th starting at 8 so that you can plan a pre-Moms’ Day date night with the favorite lady in your life. The kids can have her Sunday! Get your reservations in for any of our Mother’s Day weekend events post haste. You don’t want to end up showing your appreciation for the most important lady in your life by taking her to Mickey Ds do you? Certainly, your mother raised you better!

The following day, Monday, May 11, Gypsy will participate in the Annual Celebrate Life / Celebrate Art Event benefiting the Persad Center (http://www.persadevents.org/clcaa.php)

South Side Historic Home Tour (& Brunch at Gypsy!) Saturday, May 16th
We’ll cover the second half of the month next time, but we must mention the Historic South Side Home Tour Saturday May 16th from 10am till 4pm. Pittsburgh’s South Side, while being famous for more notorious reasons, is also famed for having some of the best examples of architecture in the city. Gypsy is partnering with the South Side Local Development Company to offer a brunch buffet to go along with the Home Tour. Advance tickets for the Tour and the buffet are $40. This is a must for anyone who enjoys great architecture, great food, and one of Pittsburgh’s greatest neighborhoods. You must purchase tickets for the brunch and tour in advance through the SSLDC: www.southsidepgh.com

Be sure to check out our new blog, the Caravan Chronicles at www.caravanchronicles.blogspot.com to get a glimpse behind the scenes here at Gypsy. We finally have a blog. Maybe in another couple of years we’ll get around to Twittering.

Thanks for reading this bulletin, and thanks for helping Gypsy make it to our Fifth Anniversary. As clichéd as it may sound, we honestly couldn’t have done it without you.

Chef Jim

Gypsy Café
1330 Bingham Street, corner of 14th Street
South Side, Pittsburgh 15203
www.gypsycafe.net


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Housekeeping:
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